Precipice
by crookedview
Summary: It wasn’t much of a cliff – only fifteen feet down or so. But it was high enough to break his neck if he tried. Rated T just in case
1. Chapter 1

**A/N** **I got my inspiration on a road trip the other day. When I was little, I always wanted to stop the car in the middle of the highway and go rock-climbing. Guess I still do. This is probably going to be just a few short chapters, but I like the idea a lot. It takes place a couple of years after our losties are rescued.**

He sat almost nonchalantly on the cliff, feet dangling over the ledge, the wind whipping his hair in his face. It was bitingly cold, and he felt it. His fingers were numb inside the pockets of his denim jacket. He balled his hands into fists with difficulty. It was always cold in New England. Even in the summer, it was never truly hot. That didn't matter because summer was months away. For Charlie, a month these days was a lifetime. Much as he hated New England, he didn't have the desire to leave, probably because it seemed like too much work. Maybe touring for so long with DriveShaft finally caught up with him. But then, he was always a sort of homebody.

There was a shrill honk of a car horn, and a man's voice. "Hey! You okay up there?"

Charlie looked down from his perch on the cliff. It wasn't much of a cliff – only fifteen feet down or so. But it was high enough to break his neck if he tried. He was always thinking morbid thoughts like that; he couldn't help it. The cliff was to the direct side of a highway, the Mass Pike. He could see car after car speeding by in a blur. Sometimes he wondered where they were all in a rush to. Didn't they know there wasn't really anything worth chasing after?

He peered down at the one car that was stationary. A man in a blue pickup had pulled over to the side of the road and rolled down his window, leaning out to stare up at Charlie. He had a graying beard and wore a frown that made his face wrinkle.

"You okay up there?" the man repeated, and Charlie was surprised to hear actual concern in the stranger's tone.

"Yeah." Charlie said after a moment. "I'm okay. What about you?"

"Fine."

The man looked deeply confused as to why a person hanging over a cliff would ask a perfectly grounded person if they were all right. So what? Maybe Charlie didn't want to be grounded. Maybe he wanted to stop kidding himself and finish his constant waiting for something good to happen.

After a moment, the stranger raised his eyebrows. "You sure?"

Charlie nodded slowly. He wasn't all that okay, but this guy probably couldn't do much about it. Besides, he looked relieved to leave Charlie behind as he pulled out and joined the herd of metal and wheels on the road. Most people were relieved to get rid of him. It didn't bother him so much anymore.

Some people were just meant to watch. Not everyone was lucky enough to drive.


	2. Chapter 2

Today it was a little warmer, but the sun was out too, and it shone in Charlie's eyes and made them water. The rays slanted right at him, but they seemed artificial, almost as if someone was pointing a flashlight at his face.

He squinted to see below him. The traffic was heavier than yesterday; the cars were piled up like the cars of a train, all connected by chains and wires. It was even heavier an hour ago – rush hour, of course. Thousands of peoplehurrying off to their important office or restaurant or store. Did they actually enjoy it?

He used to enjoy his job. Before DriveShaft got all caught up in partying, it used to be all about the music. He'd compose at the piano or strum random chords on the guitar, and he'd be pleased with how it sounded. He and Liam would stay up all night, wired off cup after cup of coffee, writing lyrics. Lately every time he tried to compose something it sounded tinny and fake in his ears. He didn't even try to find words. Now he worked at a sporting goods store. He was a bloody cashier at a bloody sporting goods store. He didn't even _like _sports all that much.

No wonder his hobby was sitting on a cliff and watching cars. He didn't even know how he'd decided on doing something like this. One day, he'd just been wandering around the town aimlessly, then ended up at the Mass Pike. He'd been hanging around it ever since, just sitting and thinking there every day or so. Maybe it was therapeutic to see real people actually _active_, not just those idiots Dave and Barry who worked at the store arranging basketballs in little pyramids.

He did miss having things to do. He didn't like being so…lazy? Sluggish? It was just that… every time Charlie _tried_ to change up his life, go to a bar or see a movie – something! – he ended up wanting to go home and go to sleep.

Yeah, he missed the island too. He missed a lot of things. He regretted a lot of things too. What would have happened if he'd not taken the Mary statues? They were simple actions. Just picking something up and burying it in a hole in the jungle. He'd never used them. Never. Not even now, when he felt so depressed that sometimes he wanted to sleep and never wake up. On the island, he just wanted them for… reassurance? He didn't even know any more. But she didn't believe him. She didn't give him a chance to explain.

Would he be with Claire now? If he hadn't stolen away those statues, would he be living with her? He'd be happier; at least he knew that. Even if he and Claire hadn't ended up together, Charlie wouldn't feel like such a failure. Like he was a terrible person for taking Aaron, for scaring Claire, and kidnapping Sun. He felt the worst about that. He always wondered if Sun somehow knew it had been him. He kept telling himself that was just paranoia, but still. Who knew?

Charlie closed his eyes for a second, relieving them from the stinging light of the sun. The truth was, he liked it up here. It was soothing, somehow.

Suddenly, there was a loud screeching of tires that drowned out the hum of passing cars.

His eyes snapped open; sure he would witness a car crash. His pulse quickened nervously. Instead, he looked down over the ledge to see a bright green Volkswagen bug swerving bravely out of its lane. As he watched, the driver violently pulled over to the side of the road, directly underneath where Charlie was sitting.

The driver's door swung open, and a young woman leaped out from it, her head upturned to face him, her neck craning, and her eyes squinting. Blonde hair spilled around her shoulders. Her expression was one of shocked disbelief.

"Charlie?" she shrieked, her voice amazed, fearful and excited all at once.

Charlie stared down at her in astonishment.

It was Claire.


	3. Chapter 3

There was a moment of stunned silence from the both of them, in which they simply gazed at each other; Claire up to the sky, Charlie down to the frozen ground.

"Claire?" he finally said weakly. His mouth hung open. It had been two years. Two years and… three months since he'd seen her.

_A news helicopter landed on the beach, spewing sand blown from the deafening rotors. People were screaming and laughing and hugging each other. Two men stepped out from the flying machine –they looked so alien from everything else. Besides the hatch, they were the first human, civilized things Charlie had seen in over two months. After general confusion the men made it clear to the overjoyed crowd – they had room for only three people, but they would be back with reinforcements within the day. The men asked them who would be the ones to go, and Charlie shivered when he heard Claire's voice._

"_Oh! I'll go! Please let me go! I have a baby; I want to get him out of here now!" As she pleaded, she waved her arms about and her voice cracked with emotion and excitement. _

_And Charlie's heart plummeted. No one could believe their eyes as the helicopter rose off the ground, carrying Claire, Aaron, Sayid and Sawyer up to the clouds._

Charlie couldn't believe his eyes now either. Claire, here. In Massachusetts. Underneath the cliff, standing there, pale and confused.

Suddenly, Claire moved with a start. "Stay right there!" she shouted at him, and without further warning, began climbing up the rock face.

This broke Charlie out of his shock. "Whoa! Whoa! What are you doing? Don't climb up here, you'll fall! Claire!" But he was forced to watch helplessly as she struggled higher and higher, clutching the wall of jagged rocks until she was nearly at the top. On her face was a sick, scared expression, but it was also filled with determination. It took an agonizing minute that felt like thirty, and every moment, he feared she would lose her grip and plunge backwards to the ground. Charlie reached down to pull her the rest of the way up. He felt her cold hands and gripped them tightly, she the same. He felt like her grasp was going to break all of his fingers and his arms burned with the effort off pulling her over the ledge.

Claire tumbled over the top, collapsing in a heap, breathing hard. Charlie was winded too, but before he could regain some air, she threw her arms around his neck and squeezed him fiercely. Charlie relaxed in her embrace until she shoved him away again and started to shout. Her hair was in her face, and her angry blue eyes were glassy with tears.

"What the _hell_ are you doing up here? You almost gave me a heart attack! Oh my God, I thought you were going to jump right in front of my eyes! Oh my God, oh my God." She was in furious tears. "I thought," she gasped, her cries becoming hysterical "I thought I was never going to see you again, and there you were, way up here, about to –"

"Wait, wait, wait." Charlie interjected, confused. "You thought I was going to kill myself? Bloody hell, Claire! I'd at least have had the decency to commit suicide in the privacy of my own home!"

Claire looked horrified, and Charlie was immediately sorry he'd said that. He always said the wrong thing at the wrong time.

"I was just kidding. _Kidding!_ I'm sorry. This whole thing is _weird. _It has me a little shaken, okay?"

Claire wiped her wet face with both hands, still sobbing. Charlie placed a tentative arm around her shoulder and considered it a good sign that she didn't pull away. In fact, she leaned into him as if she'd never move again. Slowly her crying subsided, and he tried to think of what to say.

But there was nothing but the wind raging around them.


End file.
